A Death in Iraq—A Soldier’s Requiem, Never Fading Away

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Every day there are small reminders, and here was one: Julia would hang the ornament because her father, Lt. Col. Paul J. Finken, died in Iraq six years ago, killed by a roadside bomb on the final patrol of his yearlong deployment....

The moment capsulized one family’s self-guided journey through loss. Over six years, Mrs. Finken and her daughters, ages 14, 12 and 10, have struggled through different phases of mourning, sometimes together, sometimes on individual calendars. But the one constant has been their determination to remember, without letting memory become a millstone.

“I don’t want to squeeze the life out of the memories, because I want them to still be precious and mean something,” Mrs. Finken said. “I also don’t want the memories to drag us down. Because memories can do that sometimes.”

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • Children • Marriage & Family • * Economics, Politics • Defense, National Security, Military • Iraq War • * Theology • Pastoral Theology

0 Comments
Posted January 19, 2013 at 9:00 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]
Registered members must log in to comment.



Next entry (above): Episcopal Bishop Nick Knisely’s Statement on Marrying Same Sex Couples in Rhode Island

Previous entry (below): (Anglican Journal) New ways of structuring Canadian General Synod?

Return to blog homepage

Return to Mobile view (headlines)